1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to dispensing mechanisms in particular, but not exclusively, to dispensing mechanisms for dispensing food products such as ice cream or chilled confectionery products usually of semi-solid form.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been proposed to dispense ice cream from large containers in individual portions by, for example, hand operation using scoops. It has also been proposed to dispense ice cream from machines as by soft serve machines in which the product is mixed, and frozen, or by dispensing machines in which pre-packaged ice cream is delivered from an ice cream container.
All these known systems are limited by one or more factors such as expensive machinery, slow rate of dispensing, narrow range of product, deterioration of bulk product not used, consistency of portion control, limited flavour selection etc.
A further possibility is the making up of individual portions in a factory and packaging the portions for individual use. Such individual portions cannot be readily employed in certain outlets, such as restaurants or in certain receptacles such as glass or dishes, and the nature of the receptacles in which the individual portions are sold is limited by the cost effectiveness of the packaging receptacle.
An object of the invention is to provide a dispensing mechanism which overcomes at least some of the above disadvantages and which is flexible, cost effective and meets a gap in the existing market.